Blog the Change – Doing Our Part

Four times per year bloggers come together to “Be the Change for Animals”. It’s not just for bloggers…everyone is encouraged to read, share, and support causes and people helping animals. Bloggers can write about a cause that is important to them, and readers can share comments and ideas.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about this time. In the past I’ve written about puppy mills, laboratory testing on animals, and encouraging everyone to do what they can to help their favorite causes. Usually when this hop comes about I’m fired up about something that I haven’t written about yet. But lately I’ve been pretty busy with our new puppy, and haven’t been spending time perusing animal pages on Facebook or reading much on the internet. Don’t get me wrong, I am always fired up about these topics, but I just didn’t feel like I had anything new to say on the subjects.

One thing I felt I’ve done to help animal causes is the very reason I didn’t have a topic…..it is our puppy Luke, who is our first rescue dog. All of our other current pets came from family, friends, or reputable breeders. Our cat Conrad was a shelter cat, and one of our previous dogs Shelby was also a shelter dog, but we had never adopted from a rescue before now.

Shelter cat Conrad and rescue pup Luke.

It has been a wonderful experience for us. We weren’t planning on adding to our family, and we certainly weren’t setting out to be altruistic in adopting another dog. You can read the whole story of how Luke came to join our family here, or about his homecoming here, but the short story is that I saw a litter of puppies on Facebook with a rescue, and we ultimately decided to adopt one.

What surprised me about the process here was when I was thanked for adopting, not just by the woman who runs the rescue, but by Luke’s foster mother also. At first I wasn’t sure why they were thanking me. I never really thought of what we were doing as some good deed. I had decided long ago that our next pet would be a rescue or shelter animal. To me, the person running the rescue, and Luke’s foster mother, not to mention the transport driver, were the ones to be thanked. I gained a wonderful family member, and I thank them for that.

Comfy in his new home.

There are many older dogs that may have a lesser chance of finding a home than an adorable puppy like Luke did. We decided on a puppy because our beagle Cricket is possessive, bossy, and sometimes overbearing and we thought a puppy would be easier for her to accept. I suppose not everyone wants a puppy….I had to think about it for a while before deciding I was ready to take one on myself. Luke was one of a litter of 12, and the rescue had pulled another mother from the same shelter as Luke’s mom, right before she gave birth to 10. That’s 22 homeless dogs born in the space of a week.

Luke’s litter was one of two from Moms pulled from a shelter just before giving birth. Photo courtesy of Peace and Paws Rescue.

I guess I can take some credit for doing a good thing, but really, Luke has been a joyous addition to our family. I guess I could say the process hasn’t been as easy perhaps as going somewhere local and buying a pet (never from a pet store but there are a lot of backyard litters in the newspaper). We had to go through the adoption process, and worry about getting turned down. We had a stressful time of scrambling to get ready when we found out Luke was being transported two weeks earlier than expected, right smack at Christmas time. We have dealt with his kennel cough from being transported, and the worry our other dogs might catch it (they didn’t). But really, all that was nothing.

Luke playing outdoors with his new sisters.

So I’m not trying to take credit for doing something good….the people working in rescue are the ones doing it all, and I am especially thankful to Melissa and Bo of Peace and Paws Rescue and Rescue Riders Transport, and Luke’s foster mother Brenda in Alabama. Yet I do like to think that my husband and I have done our small part by giving a pup, who barely escaped being born in a cold dreary shelter, a happy and loving home. That is one less homeless dog, and every one counts.

I always say that we should all just do what we can, whether it is big or small, and maybe our story will encourage someone else to do what they can. In that spirit, please read and share the other posts below!

Comments

I think when you are involved in animal welfare it can be a very overwhelming feeling and easy to fluff off the things we do that help animals as being just ‘small potatoes’ but you did a great thing. You rescued a puppy which leaves room for the rescue to pull another dog. In essence then, you saved two lives!

I think it’s wonderful that you choose to rescue, and I’m glad that Luke is working out so well!

Thank you so much, Jodi. I guess it’s hard to think of it as doing a good deed when we feel like we got the best end of the deal! I am so glad we decided to rescue, and I love to look at it as having saved two lives. It does just feel like a small part when there is so much need out there. But I know every little bit helps.

Luke is so darned cute. I think you got a good dog there. When we got our Golden, we were looking for an older, between a year or two, rescue golden. We can’t have a fence here so no rescue for us. We bought a 14 month old dog from a breeder who had decided not to keep him in her breeding program. Worked out great but I always felt bad that we weren’t able to help an adult doggie. 🙂 I can’t wait to read more about Luke!

He is a cutie, and we’re pretty happy with him so far! I guess rescues can be pretty particular about certain things, I was really worried when we applied that we’d get turned down for some reason! I think we’re all led to the dogs that are right for us.

By adopting Luke, you not only gained a family member, but you opened a space in the foster home and/or rescue organization, which makes room for another dog! It always makes me happy when I find out someone found their latest pet on Facebook or Pinterest, because I truly believe that when it comes to adoptable pets sharing is caring!

Good deeds all around! And hopefully folks who read your blog, or know you IRL and know Luke, who might not have thought about adoption will look into it next time. You never know who you might influence with your actions, and that keeps the good deed going!

Taking a puppy from such a large litter was certainly a good deed! Of course, I agree you DID get the adorable Luke out of the deal! LOL! It sounds to me like everyone involved did a truly great thing!

Stories like this do wonders to combat the stigma that rescue dogs are some how “damaged goods”. They are just as happy, healthy, and challenging (or not) as dogs from any other place are… or aren’t, as the case may be.

Absolutely, thank goodness for all the people who work so hard to make a difference in the lives of pets! I’m sure getting to see a dog they helped rescue find a good home helps them keep doing what they do.

Plus, your blog shows that doing something good for pets, like getting your puppy from a rescue instead of from a puppy mill or breeder, can be easy and feel good!

You are so right. I was a bit nervous adopting from a rescue for the first time, but it has been a great experience and everyone needs to know that. And it does feel good! I don’t like to take credit, but adopters are needed just as much as every other person that plays a part along the way.

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